Arab coalition warships guarding Yemeni coasts stepped in and pounded rebel targets in Taiz as the allied troops braced for the final battle to seize the Southwestern governorate, press reports from Yemen said on Tuesday.
On Monday, the coalition warplanes and artillery intensified shelling of the positions of the Iranian-backed Houthis and forces loyal to deposed President Ali Abdullah Saleh while the national resistance fighters launched more attacks to retaliate against the rebel random shelling that killed or wounded scores of civilians in Taiz.
“The coalition and the resistance forces are bracing for the final battle to seize all Taiz as they step up bombing of rebel targets,” the UAE daily 'Al Bayan' reported.
It quoted allied military sources as saying air and ground bombing by the coalition coincided with shelling by allied warship off the Yemeni coast against Houthi targets in Taiz and in areas close to the governorate.
According to the paper and Yemen’s Masdar Online news network, the coalition forces have also succeeded in cutting off supplies to the Houthis and their allies after seizing roads linking Taiz with nearby Alhudaydah governorate.
“The full control of Alhudaydah port in West Yemen will allow the coalition and the national resistance to liberate all areas in Taiz and Alhudaydah governorates,” Al Bayan said, quoting a military source in Yemen.